1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to computer user behavior monitoring systems and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for examining computer user activity to assess user psychology.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to the development and progression of computer and data networks, people are becoming Internet savvy and spend a significant amount of time browsing various websites in order to communicate with other people (e.g., through instant messages and emails), conduct research (e.g., through educational websites, digital libraries and expert discussion forums) and/or perform business applications. However, such an increase in the Internet usage has exposed computer users (e.g., children, adolescents) to inappropriate web sites and/or content. Occasionally, children and/or adolescents may attempt to access undesirable content. As an example, children may access a web site that hosts content portraying extreme violence or adult material. As another example, children may learn certain illicit activities (e.g., making explosives, hacking computer system hacking, committing fraud and/or the like) through various computer activities (e.g., Internet searching, file downloading, web sites browsed and/or the like). Parents or other caretakers have limited control over the content that is accessible through the Internet.
Currently, parents may utilize various parental control software programs to monitor various activities performed by their children. The available parental control software programs are to enforce a usage policy (e.g., restricting access to illegitimate web sites, destructive and/or inappropriate content and/or the like). However, the parental control software programs fail to provide information as to why the children were involved in such inappropriate and/or destructive activities. Further, such parental control software programs fail to analyze and provide information about the state of mind, behavior, and/or psychology of the children. Moreover, the parental control software programs do not warn and/or alert the parents as to any change in behavior
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for examining computer user activity to assess user psychology.